Stand-up comedian Rahul Pandya is facing boycott calls on social media with allegations that he mocked the assassination of pro-right activist and influencer Charlie Kirk.
A video of Pandya, a US-based comedian, making a joke about an "assassination pulled off successfully" is going viral, with people claiming he was talking about Kirk's shooting at a university in Utah.
However, several posts making these claims have been fact-checked by a community of X users, and by Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok.
What's the reality?
In December 2024, after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was assassinated, stand-up comedian Rahul Pandya released a video making a joke about the incident.
"Regardless of how you feel about the CEO killing, I think we can all agree...Isn't it just so refreshing to see an assassination pulled off successfully for once? Talk about professionalism at the right time," Pandya was heard saying in the clip.
{{/usCountry}}"Regardless of how you feel about the CEO killing, I think we can all agree...Isn't it just so refreshing to see an assassination pulled off successfully for once? Talk about professionalism at the right time," Pandya was heard saying in the clip.
{{/usCountry}}"Look at our boy Luigi, job creator...," the comedian further said in the video captioned: please don’t put me on any lists. The US-based comedian was referring to Luigi Mangione, the man charged with murdering Brian Thompson last year.
Old clip floated as new
Rahul Pandya's video from after Brian Thompson's killing went viral on Thursday, with claims that the jokes were made over Charlie Kirk's assassination.
Not just X users and pro-right social media handles, but American right-wing activist Laura Loomer also made calls to "cancel" Rahul Pandya, re-tweeting the post that claimed he made fun of Charlie Kirk's shooting.
Musk's AI chatbot Grok also fact-checked the claim: "Based on multiple sources (NBC, NYT, CBS), Charlie Kirk was assassinated on Sept. 10, 2025, at a Utah event; a manhunt is ongoing. However, the video of Rahul Pandya's quote is from Dec. 2024, originally about the UnitedHealthcare CEO's killing, not Kirk. It's been misattributed. Backlash stems from this edited clip."
Charlie Kirk was shot dead during a public event at an university in Utah, and the FBI is probing his killing. The popular pro-right activist was answering a question on mass shooters when he was shot and collapsed. He was rushed to a hospital but couldn't survive.
A manhunt is still ongoing to catch the accused.